I am not sure who started painting rocks and leaving them on our walking trails but it was a lovely idea for young and old. Children must be so bored staying at home – so much so that I saw my neighbor’s toddler swimming the breast stroke in the street puddle (where the sprinkler water gathers)!
JOY AND LOVE TO EVERYONE
Tree pollen means squinting eyes and no eye make-up…
Look at my new Retro jeans – took me straight back to the 70’s drunkenly trying to unbutton jeans in a disco. I bought them in Walmart for full price because they fit so well.
These are my azaleas in full bloom so spring is here in SE Texas (it would be summer north of the Wall). When the azaleas were first planted, they were exactly the same bright pink but I think the soil around one has changed because of its proximity to a pine tree. The purplish one is underneath our Live Oak. Isn’t nature wonderful?
Yesterday was a fun day! I went to my local thrift shop and snagged a coral jean jacket, apple green shirt and brand new faux fur vest – all for $3. That’s right, $1 each. They were playing 70’s funk music and the girl behind checking was grooving on down so I joined her, swaying the hips. She asked where I got my cute skirt and laughed when I revealed it was from Forever 51 21. Then I taught her how to say Good Morning in Arabic (this segued naturally from a comment about my accent) and I think that’s why I got such an amazing bargain. I also donated a beautiful quilt so it all works out.
The day before, I was shopping unhappily in Burlington because a gift card was burning a hole in my frontal lobe. The shop was gigantic but I couldn’t find anything decent. I noticed a little Central American girl looking loudly for “Papi!” I saw him in menswear and said to the little girl, “Papi, alli!” Dad placated her but then she ran off wailing “Mami!” who was hiding elsewhere. I understood their pain…
The previous week I had gone to a Premium outlet out of town, again because another bloody gift card was creating mental chaos. I went into one store to get some stuff for Ted and was helped by a man? He was very attractive, with long pink dreads which coordinated with his cute little white wool shorts and sweater and long fuchsia jacket. His long black legs went on forever with size 11 pink pumps. I have no judgment, just curiosity, especially since he didn’t have fake boobs. Then I saw him helping a Mexican man who, by his reaction, thought the assistant was a woman. Life is interesting these days.
To top my shopping mania, I browsed through Macy’s after the thrift store snag. At the clearance racks I came across two black ladies getting on down with some more 70’s funk (is there a musical plot in our forest?) so I started dancing with them. Why not? The world has gone mad with such sadness in New Zealand. May they rest in peace.
On a lighter final note, we bought Toffee a new knitted catnip toy at the weekend. I forgot it was in my purse but delighted Toffee with a new toy. She rolled and purred. Then she made a new LOUD vocalization which sounded a little like “I have done the stinkiest poo” but there was a note of elation. We think it was meant to be Captain America bird but since Toffee is from Egypt he has a new name every day –
I could go on and on but that’s exactly what this post is – a quirky Kerry rambling. For clarity, I am petering off my anti-depressants because of side-effects and under the care of my psychiatrists. Let’s just say I am a little ‘happy’ and ‘tense’ all at the same time. Teddy thinks it is an alluring combination!
“I love you!”
“I love you more!”
I was working in the countryside last weekend and I met a lovely horse. It took me ages to persuade the horses, calves and donkeys to come close to me. Then it gave me great pleasure to show my colleagues how to handle livestock. Did you know that horse’s eyes magnify images so you are much larger and scarier than you think you are? We gently blew into the cattle’s noses and they blew back. The delight on my city friends’ faces was a joy.
I lived in the countryside for many years and part of my heart is still there. In my last post I said I wasn’t blue but it took an appointment with my psychiatrist this week, to realize that I am low. Dang those chemical imbalances! A medication has been added to my daily potion for a short time and I hope to be back to my old self soon. Every time this happens, I am taken by surprise; perhaps it is a self protective mechanism in my brain.
There is no particular reason for it other than working more hours than usual and being stressed. The change is seasons affects me too and the stupid daylight savings time. The additional drug makes me sleepy but I can feel it’s influence already. Aren’t we lucky to live in the modern age of medicine? Teddy was so ill recently with a systemic infection that they gave him antibiotics that are used to treat the Plague! That scared the life out of me.
I may not post or read blogs as much as usual but I will be back (Arnold Schwartzenegger voice). Sometimes this medication elevates my mood more than it should, so my posts might be more interesting than usual…
Hasta Luego!
Crazed Christmas Volunteer
This photo shows you that I am not vain…I look like I should be involuntarily held somewhere! In my defense, this was 8 am on Christmas morning and I was running out the door to volunteer. Most people, that I helped, were very grateful with one or two exceptions. Now I think they may just have been frightened. I had a hangover from Christmas Eve and I am sure that three coffees later I looked okay.
I had one Grinch moment when a member of staff fist-bumped me for saying ‘Merry Christmas’ instead of Happy Holidays. Really? I am not politically correct, in any case, but it was the 25 December. Just to demonstrate – this guy is a horse’s ass. 🙂 Do you remember to wish your Indian colleagues, a Happy Diwali or Happy Hanukkah to your Jewish friends? It is perfectly okay for institutions to wish everyone a Happy Holiday when there are so many different religious festivals around the winter solstice. When was the last time you wished anyone a Spiritual Solstice on the 21st, eh? Did you offer to run naked around the woods with them – what kind of friend are you???
Almost to prove the point, I don’t know how many Muslims, Hindis and Sikhs wished me a Merry Christmas and they really enjoyed that I gave up my time to help them. After five chaotic hours, I could feel the the Christmas spirit disappearing and desperately needing some of the other ‘Spirit’. It struck me that we never really notice when the Pakistani gas station employee, for example, is working on Thanksgiving or Ramadan.
Finally, I’m not really thanking myself. Most volunteers love what they do. No comments about keeping the Christ in Christmas – only positive comments allowed!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS…lol!
This is the Halloween story I promised following the Cougar and the Cherokee blog – https://chattykerry.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/the-cougar-and-the-cherokee/ I had gone into our local hardware store to speak to the master gardener about a strange webbing all over our Live Oak. Both my husband and I thought that it was a very industrious spider but then the web was literally all over an oak tree that is as tall as our house. I was chatting with a friend who queried whether it could be something harmful like a silk worm.
To my astonishment, the master gardener brought up some photos on her computer of the perpetrators and their web – it was bark lice. They are amazing little friends of nature. Live Oaks attract lichen because of their open bark and this can kill the tree. The bark lice eat lichen so they come as a landscaping team – probably speaking Spanish – cover their web all over the tree, eat the lichen, roll the web back into a ball and take it with them to the next tree. Isn’t that fantastic?
Here is a link to more information about them. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-41_barklice2_Cerastipscus_sp.htm
I looked very hard for Ernesto, Adelpho or Pedro but I couldn’t see the little stripy critters under the webbing. I hoped it would last until Halloween and I could cover the tree in fake spiders but their job is done and our tiny landscapers have moved onto another tree. Nature is full of joy and mystery.
Postcards from Kerry 